Around Lake Stubbe
Stubbe Sø is Djursland's largest lake in the middle of Mols Bjerge National Park. Around the lake are idyllic Ørnbjerg Mølle, the beautiful Dråby Church and Egsmark Plantation. Much of the land around Stubbe Sø is owned by private landowners. However, the state owns a corner at the south-eastern edge of the lake, and from here you can access the lake via a footpath
Lake Stubbe
Bird watching
If you are lucky you might spot the white-tailed eagle in the sky above the lake of Stubbe Sø. It is a good idea to enjoy the lake's wildlife from the observation tower, from where there is a view over most of the lake and its environs. Or you can visit the bird reserve north of the lake, with its paths and a rich birdlife. There is only poor lakeside access, so these are the two best places from which to enjoy the lake.
Clear water and wild life
Because the lake is surrounded by forest and nutrient-poor sandy soils, the water in the lake is clear and clean, and the lake is rich in water plants and fish. Otter, white-tailed eagle, osprey and kingfisher frequent the area, accompanied by greylag geese, grebe and water rail.
The Ice Age is the reason for this wonderful place
Stubbe Sø is a water-filled kettle hole. When the ice of the most recent ice advance stagnated on top of the southern part of Djursland, it left a large section of ice where the lake is today. This ice melted slowly, leaving a depression in the landscape. During the Stone Age, the kettle hole made up the innermost part of a small fjord which stretched from the coast south of Jernhatten to the present Stubbe Sø.
How to get there
The route to the lake goes via Stubbe Søvej. You drive off immediately east of the bridge over Havmølle Å. There is a sign saying “Stubbe Sø”. From the car park, the trip continues on foot. After about 100 meters, an arrow points west to the birdwatching tower. You can also take the footpath from Gravlev: a walk of about 30 minutes. From the footpath there is also access to the bird reserve.
Ørnbjerg Mølle
500 year old mill site
A mill has stood by the stream here at Ørnbjerg since the 1500s. The current building is from 1833 and was used to mill grain up to the end of the 1950s.
A working museum
Today, a voluntary group, Ørnbjerg Møllelaug, and the Danish Nature Agency manage the restoration and operation of the mill. A yellow-dot route leads from the mill along the stream to the lake of Stubbe Sø. There is an exhibition at the mill. There are also two shelters, a toilet and a primitive camp site.
Take a walk to the mill
A walk along the yellow-dot route from the lay-by on the main road leads to the mill through forest plantations and past deep ravines to the peaceful spot by the mill.
Practical information
Stubbevej 2a, 8410 Rønde. A hand-painted sign indicates the road to the mill from the main road.
Gravlev path
8 km footpath from Gravlev to Ebeltoft
The footpath follows the former Ebeltoft-Trustrup railway. The landscape is varied, and the footpath takes you through willow marshes rich in tits and warblers, into silent halls of beeches, across open landscape and past lakes, meadows and fields featuring skylarks, lapwings, ducks and geese. The ditches have peat soil, as evidence of the former bog landscape, and to the north the footpath crosses Havmølle Å (stream) and the road, Stubbe Søvej. Around 500 meters before Gravlev, a marked path leads away to Stubbe Sø.
Exotic animals
From the footpath from Gravlev (in Danish: Gravlevstien), you can catch a view of exotic savannah landscapes with animals such as giraffe, zebra, gnus and ostriches. This is because the around eight-kilometre long footpath between Ebeltoft and Gravlev passes by a zoo, Ree Park – Ebeltoft Safari.
Dråby Church
The Cathedral of Mols Country
“The Cathedral of Mols Country”, no less. This is the local name for Dråby church, which, with a length of 35 meters, is an impressive building. Dråby more or less means “the town by the isthmus". The narrow land between Ebeltoft Vig and the Kattegat used to be much narrower, and Dråby then had easy access to the Kattegat and the town grew in size.
Bigger than Ebeltoft
Right up until the 16th century, the parish of Dråby was more important than the parish of Ebeltoft. The oldest parts of the church building are from the 13th century.
Egsmark Plantation
Take a seat
The view at the bottom of the planted forest Egsmark Plantage takes you by surprise. You arrive there via a path that penetrates the entire plantation. There is a bench from where you can enjoy the front-seat view of the coastal cliffs left behind in the landscape when the Stone Age sea retreated to the coastline we know today. You can also see the lake of Stubbe Sø from here. The plantation is a reminder of the time when the Jutland heathland was planted with trees.
Take a walk
The tree-planting association Djurslands Plantningsforening bought Egsmark Plantage in 1929 and today they provide information about the history of the afforestation movement in the extensive demonstration plantation. Visitors can read posters about the history of the association and signs showing the species of trees, including lodgepole pine, Korean pine, thuja, wild cherry, Scotch pine, beech, lark and sitka spruce. QR codes are available, so that visitors can retrieve more information via their smartphone.
Practical information
The plantation is situated by the lay-by on the corner of the Ebeltoft-Feldballe main road by the turn-off to Tirstrup.
The history of the plantations
The afforestation movement is an important part of Danish cultural heritage. With extensive planting of trees on meagre soils, the project has left a clear mark on the National Park. The afforestation movement prospered after Denmark’s loss of Schleswig to Germany in 1864, in particular in Jutland. “What has been lost externally, must be regained internally,” said the manager of the Danish Land Development Service, E.M. Dalgas. He then set about cultivating the Danish heath. The afforestation movement gained in scope with more than a hundred local forest-planting associations and districts making Denmark richer in trees and forest cover.